2012 Plans and Dreams From the Linux Blogs and Beyond

Looking ahead to this new year, "I wish and expect that the world will discover FLOSS, particularly Debian GNU/Linux, to be the rich and efficient software system I have been using for years," said blogger Robert Pogson. "It is as different as night and day from that other OS, with all its restrictions and fragility."

Not only can we finally dispense with all the holiday festivities, but we can also say goodbye to a year that was far too tempestuous for comfort. Here's hoping that 2012 will be a lot less exciting here in the technology world!

Of course, one last obligation still to be fulfilled on this cusp of the new year is the making of resolutions. Linux Girl's is to get up close and personal with more of the distros out there, beyond just Ubuntu and Mint; she's also hoping to dust off and photograph her world-class collection of plastic toy penguins.

As for other bloggers? Well, they've had plenty of other things in mind.

'Pay Down Debt'

Blogger vCole kicked off the conversation early over
on TechExams.net, for example, getting the ball rolling back in mid-December.

"I know we're 16 days away from New Year's Eve, but what is everyone's New Year's Resolution(s)?" vCole wrote. "Mine are:

Finish MCITP:EA (Taking 1 of the 3 remaining exams this month)
Get healthy. (Not just lose weight, but over all health - mentally and physically!)
Pay down debt (Already started this!)
Pickup a new hobby
and last, read more."

'Get My Blog Its Own Domain'

Blogger shodown had different ideas: "Not to spend 600 bucks on a 3750 and instead buy holiday cards, put in 20 bucks inside them and hand them out to the people I encounter at Starbucks, the liquor store, the grocery store and the few places I eat every day."

Alternatively, "get back to the gym on a normal basis (At least 4 times a week again)" was one resolution from blogger Steve086.

Others on Steve086's list:

"Disconnect from work a bit more and relax
Build my home CCIE lab
Get my CCDP and CCNP: Sec
Get my blog its own domain instead of .wordpress.com
Publish blog posts back on a weekly basis"

'Contribute More to OSS Projects'

Ginger Geek Girl, meanwhile, plans not only to "spend less money going out (thus the Wii purchase!) so I can save for a new car in 2012," but also to "learn a new word per week, use it and report on it," she wrote on her blog last month.

"Gain a footing in my new position, and help out with some of the company's challenges," began Danish blogger
Mookid.

Others on Mookid's list:

"Attend a couple of conferences -- in passive as well as in active mode.
Contribute some more to some of the OSS projects I like -- including
my own.
Put
Rebus to (some serious ab)use."

'Manage a Source Release'

Another one of Linux Girl's own New Year's resolutions for 2012 is to spend more quality time with her favorite barstool down at the Broken Windows Lounge, and that's just what she did to kick off the new year -- aided in large part by a parade of Peppermint Penguins, Sudo Santas and Command Lime Coolers.

She couldn't help overhearing what her barmates had to say.

"Put the finishing touches on a project I'm working on and manage a source release," offered consultant and Slashdot blogger Gerhard Mack, for example.

'Teach My 8-Year-Old to Program'

"Return to annual major version releases for LedgerSMB," said Chris Travers, a Slashdot blogger who works on the LedgerSMB project..

"LedgerSMB 1.3 was horribly waylaid by a number of complex development projects," Travers explained. Version 1.4, however, will be released in 2012, he said.

Then, too -- vowing to pass down some of the geeky awesomeness to the next generation -- Travers also plans "to teach my 8-year-old how to program in Perl and C," he told Linux Girl.

'I Will Continue to Explore Debian'

Finally, blogger and newly retired teacher
Robert Pogson was looking forward to a year of wonder and fresh possibilities.

"I have more PCs than I could possibly need; now, I write and play with FLOSS," Pogson explained.

"I only have 1,700 of the 30,000 software packages from the Debian GNU/Linux repositories," he noted. "There's just so much available that I have not tried yet."

Pogson plans to set up a network of virtual machines and experiment with various clustering and networking technologies. "I expect I will continue to explore Debian," he told Linux Girl.

'Continued Growth for FLOSS'

Looking ahead to this new year, "I wish and expect that the world will discover FLOSS, particularly Debian GNU/Linux, to be the rich and efficient software system I have been using for years," Pogson said.

"It is as different as night and day from that other OS, with all its restrictions and fragility," he added.

Meanwhile, "I expect Android/Linux will continue to triumph in the mobile space and to invade the stationary space," Pogson predicted. "GNU/Linux will share that accomplishment."

In all, then, "I see nothing but continued growth for FLOSS in 2012, accelerated by the faltering of that other OS, which does not meet the needs of ordinary people all over the world," Pogson concluded.

Katherine Noyes has been writing from behind Linux Girl's cape since late 2007, but she knows how to be a reporter in real life, too. She's particularly interested in space, science, open source software and geeky things in general. You can also
find her on Twitter.